While Anna acknowledges that losing her hair during her four rounds of chemotherapy was tough ("I'm already shy and the last thing I wanted to do was walk around bald," she says), as a mother to four kids: Ally, 21, twins Greg and Matt, 19, and Joe, 14, she also found it difficult to prioritize herself.

"I take on everybody's stress, but this had to be all about me," she says. "I'm not like that!"

Thankfully, she has made a full recovery – and Anna and Ray are focusing on helping others.

"We dodged a bullet," says Ray. "Now we want to give back."

For more about how the Romanos dealt with Anna's diagnosis – and how Ray helped keep her spirits up – pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday